Crazy in love
by Kat Addy
Summary: This is a story focusing on Zack Addy and his time in the asylum where he falls in love with a boy named Riely. Zack will have to come out to his friends and family and he will have to pry open not only his own heart but that of a crazy boy he never knew.
1. Chapter 1

Note: This was the fic that got me into writing. Riely is an OC based on L from Deathnote. He is in fact an OC though. I often make references to my favorite T.V shows and anime in my fics, in this chapter I believe there is one to Ouran High Host Club, twoTorchwoods, if you get any of them then please tell me in the reviews! I don't know where I'm going with this except that Zack and Riely are going to get together at some point. Read review and enjoy!

Zack Addy had been stuck in the asylum for few months now and he had grown quite accustom to having his room to himself despite the fact the room was divided in half for the purpose of another person living there. There were two beds, two desks, two small closets, and two night stands that sat beside the beds. Zack was told not to use the desk or the nightstand or sleep in the bed or put anything in the closet. Zack complied willing and, for the most part, kept to his side of the room, keeping the other side nearly untouched, this was very convenient when Riely Edison showed up in the middle of the night one night.

It was late but Zack wasn't asleep. He lay quietly in the dark when he heard the grunting of the security guards as they dragged an irritated Riely into Zack's room. One guard opened the door while the other kept a firm grip on Riely. Zack looked up as they entered. Riely was kicking and struggling silently. When he was in the room they let go of him and quickly exited. Riely shrugged and straightened his plain white t-shirt. He looked at Zack briefly before finding the bed, which was up against the opposite wall, got in facing the wall and didn't make another move the entire night.

When Zack woke up, he was gone. The only evidence that he'd ever there was a pair of jeans left on the ground and his shirt hanging off of a slightly askew desk chair. The top cover was pulled up but the bed was clearly not made. Zack checked the clock 7:24. He had five minutes until breakfast, no time for a shower. Zack almost never set his alarm. His first mandatory session of the day wasn't until 4:00 PM so the worst that could come of sleeping in was missing breakfast.

He wondered if the boy from the other day would be at breakfast. Then he wondered if he would have group therapy with him, or arts and crafts. Then he wondered what his name was, and why he was here. He contemplated if he even cared. He finally landed on he did care or else he wouldn't be wondering so much. He looked again at the clock. 7:30. He got up and got dressed. He had become more creative with his attire since he entered into the asylum. He even designed some of his own shirts. He put on a blue shirt that had an anvil and said "wwwcd" and (what would wile. E. Coyote do?) below it. He found this very humorous. He also wore a pair of worn out jeans. He walked through the hall to the dining hall.

There were two sets of rules at the asylum. The ones the directors put forth (no biting, you must be clean shaven, etc.) and the ones no one ever spoke of. The unwritten rules. Zack didn't like anything to be 'unwritten' so he took the liberty of writing down all of the courtesies people needed to know upon entering such a place. He wrote all of these in a notebook that he always kept in the top left drawer of his desk. He called it 'The Looney Bin Etiquette Manual'.

When he got to the dinning hall not many people were there. The breakfast rush never started until around eight. The boy from last night was sitting in the back corner table. Zack spotted his friend Oz at a near table and decided to sit there. He set his stuff there. Oz was loyal and he could be trusted to take care of Zack's stuff, and if anyone tried to take it, which was unlikely, well, let's just say oz had often broke the 'no biting' rule.

"hey man" oz greeted him rocking nervously in his seat. He had brought a notebook and a pencil. Since his hands got blown up he had recovered and no longer required gloves but he still had to practice writing. He felt like a kindergardner when he sat at his desk tracing oversized letters on a sheet of paper with the letters outlined in dotted lines. All he got was eggs today, and coffee, always coffee. A fellow patient Ianto always made the coffee and it was always amazing. Zack was told he also made great tea but Zack didn't enjoy tea that much.

Zack sat down with his tray across from Oz. Oz nodded and Zack smiled in reply. He practiced his writing while he ate. The two ate in silence. Zack knew why Oz was so nervous but didn't mention it. That was a rule. Rule # 2 don't mention how someone was admitted unless they bring it up. This was an important rule. Almost as important as rule # 1 which was never ever ask why someone was here. That's the million dollar question though. 'Why are you here' that's the question they always ask.

There were several answers. The medical answer, The cause/effect answer, and the therapist answer. They are all different.

The medical answer was their diagnosis, the cause/effect is what they did to get incarcerated and the therapist answer was what the therapists told you, you 'needed'. Using Oz as an example his medical reason was 'because he was delusional', his cause/effect answer is 'because he attacked someone until they nearly bled to death' and his therapist answer was 'because he needs a stable environment'. But those are only the answers you give if you are asked. You never answered the truth. You can only tell it. And the truth of it was that Oz thought he was a werewolf, and was nervous because tonight was a full moon.

Zack finished his breakfast at around 8 and went back to his room. He had been so absorbed in his writing practice he hadn't seen the boy from last night leave, but when he go back to their room there he was. He was in the middle of room staring at the back wall; he spun around when he heard the door. He stared. The boy had messy black hair and loose fitting clothes. Same outfit as last night only the collar on the shirt was different and the jeans had a rip in them displaying a bony knee. Zack squirmed, uncomfortable under the dark eyes that stared him in the face unblinking. Suddenly the boy made a mad dash straight at him. Zack braced himself. The boy stopped right beside him and whispered in his ear

"Riely" before he ran out of the room

"That must be his name" Zack thought out loud.

Zack addy went about his day as normal, he went to his mandatory four o'clock group therapy session and went to arts and crafts at 5. The rest of the time he either spent in his room reading or wandering the hall hoping to run into Riely. Once before stepping into his room he noticed the sign on the door had changed; now it read:

Dr. Zack Addy (Dr. Mahogany) and Mr. Riely Edison (Dr. Mishu).

I guess he'll be staying a while, thought Zack with a smile. His smile quickly faded when he realized tomorrow was a Friday. On Fridays Zack had to meet with doctor Mahogany for two hours to talk about what happened that week.

Zack was at the dining hall at 7 for diner he quickly found his usual table. Oz was already sitting there and so was Teresa, Lionel, and Jasmine.

Teresa had long blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. She was a beautiful girl until she opens her mouth. Her teeth were uneven and sharp, like a shark, and she had a thick and country accent and she stuttered, so most of the time she kept her mouth shut.

Lionel was a tall boy with short black hair and brown eyes. His hair fell neatly to his shoulders and his eyes constantly darted from side to side. He seemed fairly normal most of the time until he has an episode. He starts hallucinating and he runs and screams and occasionally hits people.

Jasmine had dry frazzled hair from constantly dying it. At this point it was black with blue and green streaks. Her eyes were hazel but dull and undermined by the dark bags under her eyes. She spoke quickly and excitedly and joked often. She was surprisingly cheerful for a girl on suicide watch.

Oz was short and dyed his hair red. He always wore green contacts that looked like cat eyes and he always spoke in the same monotonous voice.

Zack got his food and sat down. Teresa and jasmine seemed to be in an argument. "All I'm saying is that they're cute. I didn't say I liked them, I didn't say I was gonna invite them to our room, they are _CUTE_ that's _ALL_" it must be about the twins. The twins were a very rude pair of red-headed boys that always talked in unison and picked on people.

"bu-u-t-t the-y're mean-ean-ean-ean-" sometimes Teresa got stuck, like a broken record.

"I didn't say they weren't! I just said they're cute is all"

"ean-ean-ean-ean-ean"

"for the recorded they are cute" Zack chimed in

"ean-ean-ean and they're hair looks silly" everyone stopped and counted how many words she had said without a stutter, 5. It was a game of theirs. See how many words Teresa could say in a row. 8 was the top score.

One of the floor directors, Dr. Owen, stood on a chair.

"Hello everyone! I have an announcement!" he had to speak loud so everyone could hear him. "We have a new guest today! His name is Riely! Tell us something about yourself Riely!" Zack couldn't hear what he said because he spoke softly, but it was something along the lines of 'I like strawberry short cake.' it didn't matter anyway. No one ever said anything important when asked that question. Zack remembered when he was asked he replied "I didn't actually eat anyone" not that anyone knew he had been gormogon's apprentice.

Riely glanced around the room before dragging a chair over to Zack's table. He placed the back of the chair to the table and stepped on choosing to crouch instead of sit. He slowly pushed his thumb to his lower lip and fixed his gaze on Zack, who rested his head on his hand and meet the gaze with a smirk. Jasmine and Teresa shared a knowing look. They had their suspicions concerning Zack's sexuality and truth be told, so did Zack.

"Umm you wanted to show me a book right?" Oz asked Jasmine.

"What boo- ohhhh that book. Come on Teresa" she replied. They all got up except Lionel. "Com'on Lionel we want to show you"

"But I'm not done with my food yet"

"It a really good book" Jasmine said between gritted teeth. Nudging him and pointing at Riely and Zack, who hadn't taken their eyes off each other since sitting down.

"Ohhh that book" Lionel said getting up and putting away his tray. As the four walked away Zack heard Lionel say "I'm not saying two books of the same genre can't be read together, but I think you're reading Zack the wrong way." loud smack could be heard from down the hall. Riely either couldn't hear or didn't care because he held his gaze as evenly as before.

Zack sat up and offered Riely his hand to shake. "I'm Zack Addy" Riely looked at the hand, then his own, then back up to Zack's face but didn't shake. "Umm your Riely right?" Zack started, setting his arm back on the table. The boy nodded his head and pressed his thumb harder to his lip. Riely stepped off his chair and walked to the doorway that leads to the hall. Zack sighed. Riely turned and looked back at Zack, stopping in the doorway and nodded his head towards the hall, a silent invite for Zack to come with him.

Zack got up quickly fallowing him to their room. Riely slouched as he walked and leaned forward slightly. He looked like if he were to straighten his legs he would fall on his face. When the two got back to their room Riely opened the door and let Zack in before closing it behind him. Zack went and sat on his bed. Riely sat down in the middle of the room facing him. He sat Indian style a stared at Zack. Zack let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He grabbed the book and read. He read for the next two hours very aware of the other boys gaze. He decided to go to sleep he turned off the light, the switch to which was placed conveniently next to his bed and got into his bed facing the wall.

More notes:

Hope you liked it. There wasn't any science stuff in this but there will be in later chapters. I haven't been writing for this one in a while so I'm not sure how quickly I'll get back to it, and the later chapter probably won't be as long. The more reviews I get the more I'll be inspired to write.


	2. Chapter 2

In the middle of the night Zack woke with a start to realize that Riely had grabbed him by his middle pulled him off the bed and was, at the moment, rubbing his cheek on the top of Zack's head, arms having a tight grip around Zack's stomach. Riely froze for a moment. He seemed to realize what exactly he was doing and loosened his grip. He finally let go of Zack ran to his bed and climbed in, facing the wall, and didn't make another move the rest of the night. Zack was unsure whether that had actually just happened or not. He decided that it was irrational to try to piece together the event while he was so tierd so he climbed back into bed and slept.

The next morning Zack woke up first, gathered his things and headed for the shower. After a quick shower he went to breakfast where Riely was sitting with Jasmine and Teresa. Riely was staring intently at Teresa's crazy teeth and the pair of girls were clearly nervous. Teresa was squirming about and Jasmine was tugging vigorously at her hair. Riely, squatting in his chair, looked up and spotted Zack. He shrunk into his sit suddenly fiddling with his toast. When Zack sat down next to him he muttered sorry. He was squatting in his chair scratching his feet with his toenails, until he finally opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything Lionel sat down unaware of the tension in the room.

"Good morning!" he bellowed.

"Morning" they all replied

"You wouldn't believe the dream I had" Lionel said making a wide gesture with his arms

"Why wouldn't we?" Riely interrupted offhandedly. Everyone looked at him, startled by the unexpected attention he shrunk back into his seat, back to fiddling with his toast.

"Well, umm..." Lionel said dumbfounded by the question. "...anyways had a dream I was British, I went around breaking into peoples houses, like the giant pitcher of kool-aid from those commercial, an offering them cheerios" Everyone laughed even Zack cracked a smile, except for Riely.

"I find it highly plausible that, you dreamed such a thing. Why you would think we wouldn't believe you is a mystery to me." Riely stated, he hadn't mumbled which surprised all of them. Everyone stared, but Zack grinned, it wasn't often Zack got the opportunity to be the socially wise one.

"It was just an expression." Zack said, his matter-of-fact tone was undermined by a playful grin danced on his cheeks.

"Oh" he said, less shy now due to zack's contagious smile.

Zack skipped lunch that day. He was nervous about talking to Dr. Mahogany. Should he tell him about the dream he had of Riely? (Zack believed it was only a dream) Should he just keep it to himself? Zack sighed, checking the clock, he still had time to catch lunch, he could see Riely. He decided against it and instead, chose to flip through the Looney bin etiquette manual. He flipped straight passed the first 2 skipping instead to #3; always stay on good terms with your roommate. Zack had written this rule when he discovered how much Oz and his roommate, Martin, detested each other. Zack signed again, friends don't talk about friends behind their backs, that was something Angela taught him. He wouldn't tell Dr. Mahogany about the dream.

"Where er's er's Za a a ack?" Teresa asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing" Riely replied. He was quite happy. Zack hadn't remembered the events of last night and he had a very productive meeting with an off-site psychologist that came to visit. He said that he worked with Zack before he came to the asylum. The two chatted about Zack, Riely even confessed he was attracted to the boy.

Riely sat down in a chair, squirming a little before becoming uncomfortable and sat on his knees on the chair instead. It was just Teresa and Jasmine. Oz was having a quarrel with Martin back in their room. Jasmine and Teresa were also roommates but they got along famously.

"Does Zack like me?" Riely blurted. They two girls stared for a moment before grinning. "Wait don't answer. I want to give the two of you adequate time to process the information and data you may have gathered consciously or subconsciously about my Zack's standpoint of our uhhhh," he said now grasping for the right word "relationship" he grabbed a tray and left to two girls to laugh. 'I really should have known they wouldn't take this as seriously as I did' he thought.

"Yes!" the two girls exclaimed in unison as soon as the boy sat down.

"Oh god now we're starting to sound like the twins" said Jasmine, shame clear in her voice.

"So, he likes me?" Riely questioned cautiously, not wanting to misunderstand.

"He may not know it yet but he does.

"def-fin-in-atly" Teresa agreed. Riely gave a small satisfied smile.

After lunch Riely put away his tray and walked back to the room. It was about 2:00 and there would be showings of doctor who playing in the movie room. Each occupant of the looney bin is allowed a certain amount of hours per week that they are allowed to go to the top floor where optional activities are held. There was an arts an craft room, (which had nothing but a few tables piles of computer paper and colored pencils) the movie room which shows a variety of different T.V shows and a different movie every Friday, and a music room, this is where many of the occupants choose to spend their free time, dancing and singing to whatever music happens to be playing, but mostly just sitting around playing cards and chatting with friends.

When Riely entered the room he saw Zack laying on his bed flipping through a composition notebook.

"What's that" Riely asked. Zack turned to look at the other boy, and then sat up.

"It's, well it's, I call it the looney bin etiquette manual" Riely tilted his head to the side curiously. "It's got all ruled and things you need to know in order to live safely and happily in here.

"Well is the point really to live happily?" He asked "I mean that don't exactly want you to have to stay"

"Well I doubt I'll be going anywhere" Zack stated frankly. Just then a thought occurred to both of them. 'Why is he here?'. It was apparent they were both crazy but this wasn't just any mental institution, it was maximum security.

Zack had a sad tale that he had been keeping from everyone; it was a story of love, loss, and betrayal. He hadn't told anyone, he'd given away the punchline of the story to Dr. Sweets but the whole sad story still remained a mystery. Zack swore he'd never tell. If he ever did he would be thrown in jail along side his sweet Nicole, the woman who he could no longer love. Zack didn't eat anyone, he didn't kill anyone, and he never was Gormagon's apprentice.

Riely had a story of his own, he had a whole other world, a delusion as they called it. But sometimes it's hard to separate delusions from reality, and when the two collided, Riely had killed another man. Involuntary manslaughter they called it, such a gruesome term. But Riely had put his past behind him, he had to face the real world, and if that real world had Zack, Riely believed he could pull it off. 'But how' he thought, 'am I suppose to sacrifice the world I made for myself, for a man I barely know.'

"So this book" Riely said, breaking the silence that had been slowly building while the two of them thought. "Could I, um, see it?" he asked nervously, choosing to look at the floor instead of up at Zack. "It sounds like it might be helpful" he said back to his usual mumble.

"Sure" said Zack holding out the book for Riely to take.

"Umm" after a quick glance to Zack, who, in Riely's opinion, was looking very cute in a short sleeve, form fitting, tee-shirt that read 42 in small writing, he began to pace. "do you think you could, umm" another glance at Zack who was looking thoroughly confused at this point. "Well I..."

"What is it?" Zack asked innocently.

"I can't read" he said quickly, afraid the young genius might laugh at him.

"I could... read it to you" Zack said after a brief silence.

"You would do that?" he asked Zack quietly, looking up at Zack.

"Of course" Zack said "It's rule number 3: always stay on good terms with your roommate"

"Thanks" Riely said.

"But I can't right now" said Zack, remembering his appointment. "I have to see Dr. Mahogany" he said with more bitterness in his voice than he intended.

"Later then." Riely said with a nod, he couldn't hold back a small smile. Maybe the girls were right.

When Zack ran off, Riely began to study all of his things. Riely was kind of a snoop, thinking you're a detective for 10 years will do that to a person. He looked at the walls on Zack's half of the room, he understood none of the posters. he had a flag that said I 3 wolf. 'what does that say? He hearts something, Dammit I wish I could read, I want to know what Zack hearts' he thought. He also had painting of what Riely assumed to be his family, or at least a close group of friends. There were two framed certificates, which upon closer inspection turned out to be doctorates in engineering and forensic anthropology. 'I don't even know what that is' thought Riely. But it was very apparent to him that Zack was smart.

The one thing that caught Riely's eye though, was a trophy. It was clearly something significant to him because it was dusted and clean while the rest of the personal artifacts Zack had on his desk were coated in dust. He picked it up, "King of the Lab" it read, not that Riely knew. Riely grabbed the looney bin etiquette manual off the desk and flipped though, looking at the numbers rather than the words. 'It looks like there are 13 rules. Riely sighed. He'd managed though his whole life without having to read but now, here he sat, just wishing he knew what treasures the pages held.


	3. Chapter 3

Notes: I haven't been writing much so sorry for the slow update but I've been doing a lot of crafts. I'm not currently going to school because of medical conditions so I've been filling my time making jewelry! It's a lot of fun. Well here it is (finally) chapter 3 of crazy in love! Read, review, Enjoy!

Zack dashed to doctor Mahogany's office. When he got there the chair was facing away from the door. Then it swiveled around revealing a youthful face, not that of Dr. Mahogany's who was well into his 60s. A large grin overwhelmed Zack's face.

"Sweets!"

"Hello Zack." he stood up to shake Zack's hand.

"What are you doing here" He said excitedly and shook Sweet's hand vigorously.

"I heard you got a new roommate so I came to talk to him and thought I'd take over your regular doctor's meeting while I'm at it"

"I'm very glad" the grin still lingered as they began their session but it wasn't until half way though when they really got to the meat of things.

"Zack I have a question, and I want you to answer as honestly as possible" Sweet's said, leaning forward.

"What is it"

"Are you homosexual?" Zack began to squirm and after a long pause he said

"No?"

"Is that a question or an answer?" said Sweets in a doctor-ey voice that Zack had grown to despise.

"You think I'm gay?"

"Do _you_ think you're gay?"

"That is not an answer" there was a long pause.

"I think..." Zack started lying down on the couch and looking out the window, he wished he had a window in his room. Zack sighed "is it that obvious?"

"Zack I'm a trained professional."

"Oh god it is obvious." he sat back up and buried his face in his hands. "There are so many men in here, I've never really... Noticed how much I like other men."

"It's alright" Sweets said, trying to comfort him. "You know being in here it might not be a bad idea to, you know, date." He offered.

"But... Who?"

"I think you'll find he's closer than you think." said Sweets with a grin.

When the meeting was over Zack had to go to not one but two group therapy sessions. He had some free time before hand and decided to go outside. Going for a walk was another optional use of recreation hours.

There was a very nice park area on the property. The day was cloudy and humid, but that didn't bother Zack. On sunny days they held group therapy outside. It was nice, except for the agoraphobics. Zack had made friends with an agoraphobic during his first month inside, his name was Matthew but he only responded to 'Canada' He called everyone America because that's where they were born, except of course for an Egyptian fellow who lived the next door down to Zack, he called him Egypt, but because the Egyptian hadn't even been to Egypt since he was 4 he found it greatly offensive. Matthew was an interesting guy. That's one thing Zack could count on; the people were never boring. Matthew had left about half way though Zack's second month. Matthew was sent to a different facility.

In the middle of Zack's walk a doctor came out and found him. The tall brunette doctor looked at his clipboard.

"Um Zack?" He said, waiting for Zack to confirm it was him. He nodded. "You have a visitor"

"That's strange." Zack wondered aloud. "Hodgins and Angela have both already visited this week" that's all the facility would allow per visitor, and it was unlike Booth or Bones (Zack had taken to calling her Bones) to come without calling first.

Zack fallowed the doctor to visiting room, which was much bleaker than the rest of the building. When he walked in a man he didn't know was already seated. He entered while the doctor swiped a card and went through a door that lead to a small room where he could observe the meeting though one-way glass.

"Hello?" Zack said nervously.

"I don't have much time" said the boy, who seemed even more anxious than Zack. He was well-groomed and handsome but under the circumstances seemed quite threatening at the moment. "That guy, your roommate, Riely. Stay away from him" Zack was shocked.

"Wh-"

"I mean it he's no good." the boy eyed the room before leaning in to whispered "He killed a man" before getting up and swiping his guest card to unlock the door out. The door buzzed and he opened it, but before walking through he looked back at Zack and said "I really mean it" one last time

Confused and startled Zack exited the room. It was time for group therapy. It was led by Dr. Lightman this time instead of nurse Julie. Zack liked Julie. She was Petite and polite and always smelled of lavender. Dr Lightman on the other hand was rude, and you couldn't lie to him. If you tried he'd interrogate you until you told the truth, which may be helpful to some but it terrified Zack. If Zack told his secret he would be dragged away to prison. His group was held in the art room today. Zack headed up there early. He had two therapy groups. Today was a rare day when he had to go to both. One at 4 and another at 6. The first with Dr. Lightman, the second with dr. Owen.

When he got there Dr. Lightman was setting up chairs. He was tall British man, with dark hair. He, like all the staff, had on a name tag.

"Come help me with this" He commanded Zack. Zack nodded and began unfolding chairs. "I've been wondering about you for a while now"

"What about?" Zack asked nervously.

"Well your obviously not crazy." all the chairs were now set up and the doctor took a seat and looked at Zack. "so how can you be criminally insane?" Zack, who was avoiding looking at him, took a seat across from him and stared him bravely in the face. "Ya know what I think, is you're not criminally insane, you're just a criminal." after a moment or two of intense staring he said "you're not even that are you." just then two girls walked in. Sally and Robin, bipolar, and OCD. They took their seats. After a minute or two everyone showed up. There was Sally, Robin, Martin (Oz's roommate), Ben and Zack.

"Good day everyone" Dr. Lightman said.

"Good day" they all replied in unison.

"Who would like to start?" no one raised their hands. "Well then lets go in a circle. Sally let's start with you." he checked his clipboard "it says here that you had an outburst at art&crafts yesterday. Why don't you tell us about _that._"

"That was not my fault" she sassed "It was that dang Jillian girl, all up in my bid'niss, stealin' my glitter!"

"And why do you think she borrowed your glitter"

"You deaf or something? I said she STOLE my glitter. She was making a butterfly or some shit like that"

"Does anyone have any ideas on how Sally could have handled this situation better." Ben raised his hand.

"She could have asked nicely for the glitter back." the unbelievably dull conversation went on for another 10 minutes before Lightman moved on to Robin. Robin talked about how she and her boyfriend were working out. That was all she ever talked about. Then it was Zack's turn.

"It says hear that you have a new roommate."

"Yeah his name is Riely he's pretty cool."

"What adjustments are you making to accommodate your roommate?"

"Nothing I guess"

"Who has ideas on what Zack could do to help Riely adjust to life in here?"

"Give him a tour" Ben suggested.

"Take him to meet a great doctor like you" Martin said. Martin was kind of a suck up.

"How do you feel about Riely?"

"I like him a lot" Zack said with a grin. "I'm thinking I might see if he wants to sign up for a reading class."

"Does he like to read?"

"He doesn't know how"

"That's a good idea Zack." he nodded.

"Okay Ben why don't you go next."

After Ben talked about Doctor who for far too long, and Martin complained and whined about Oz it was finally 5. Zack shuffled out of the room quickly after Lightman said it was okay to leave. No way was he going to get stuck alone in a room with him ever again.

An hour seemed to pass all too quickly and Zack found himself late for the second session. This time it was with Dr. Owen, this group was specifically for murderers. Mostly harden criminals and the irreversible insane. But also Zack, and Riely. Zack shouldn't have been surprised. His mysterious guest had told him Riely had killed a man but it was still hard for Zack to wrap his head around. Riely? A murderer? Couldn't be. Could it?

"We have a new member today" Dr. Owen started. "Riely please stand." he stood. "Do you know why you're in this particular group?"

"um no?"

"Because you, by no fault of your own, cost another man's life. You understand?" Riely looked down.

"Yes"

"You realize that you need help, and when you get that help you will be held accountable?"

"Yes"

"Good, now what we're going to do is go around in a circle introducing ourselves to you, who we are, what we did, and so on and then it's your turn, you understand?"

"I understand"

"Okay Karen we'll start with you."

"I'm Karen, I killed my husband with a kitchen knife because A voice told me to.

"I'm Derek, I shot a guy cause' he stole drugs form me, turns out I'm bipolar."

"I'm Jeff, I killed 3 guys for fun, and there ain't nothing' crazy 'bout that.

"I'm Spike I'm 'delusional" (he said delusional with air quotes) "and I killed a guy and drank his blood 'cause I'm a vampire"

"I'm Zack and I was the apprentice to a cannibalistic serial killer and I killed a man from a secret society"

"I'm Riely. I killed my best friend because I'm my delusional world I he was a serial killer and I was saving the world."

And there, side by side, the two boys sat, now aware of the other's transgressions, just hoping that the other would understand.

Notes: Hope you liked it. I left it on kind of a cliff hanger.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this took _forever_ to write! I just wasn't as motivated as i should be. The more reviews and PMs the faster I update. Read, Review, Enjoy!

When Zack woke up Riely was nowhere in sight, in fact, he hadn't seen him since group therapy the night before, when they both found out the other was a killer. Only Zack wasn't, Zack was a lot of thinks but a murderer simply wasn't one. Only Sweets knew, and even he didn't know the whole truth. Zack couldn't stand the thought of Riely thinking he was a killer, and he was finding it very hard to believe that Riely could hurt a fly. He didn't understand it though. All his best friends, family and everyone else thought he was a murderer and he didn't care, but Riely? He shouldn't care what Riely thought either, right?  
>It was time for lunch but Zack still hadn't gotten out of bed. When he finally sat up Riely rushed into the room. Zack rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. Riely sighed.<br>"I suppose we need to talk." Riely said anxiously.  
>"I suppose we do" Zack concurred. After a silence Riely took seat at his desk chair.<br>"I used to be a detective... like in real life. But in my own messed up head, I was the worlds greatest detective. In my head I would solve case after case of elegant and intricately planned murderer. In the real world I investigated tax frauds. Then one day... its hard to explain... here is what I remember, a man, who was a vicious criminal in my head, was holding a gun to me. So I." Riely shuttered. It was obvious it was something that haunted Riely, even Zack could tell that much. "I... I grabbed a knife and stabbed him. I had my eyes closed the whole time. When I opened them, my best friend laid dead in my arms. I... I don't know what happened... I have trouble knowing the difference between real and fantasy. I sometime go days thinking I'm someone I'm not." Riely was fighting back tears now. "I don't know what your story is, and I'm not sure I want to know. But I know you're not insane.  
>"Its true, I'm not actually delusional... but how...?"<br>"I was originally a psychology major in college, the staff here are all about rehabilitation, not diagnostics. I'm pretty good with diagnostics and your not crazy, but you have had trauma.  
>"Do you want to tell me why you're here"<br>"Its a long story."  
>"I've got time"<br>~~~~~Flash Back~~~~~~  
>A man known as "the master" called the cell phone of a girl named Nicole.<br>"Nicole Smith" came a raspy voice over the line.  
>"That's me" replied the woman, not yet aware of the danger at hand.<br>"Age 23, photographer, daughter of Barbra and Thomas Smith. Sister to Kelly and Micheal Smith. Blond, legally blind in one eye, green eyes, 5' 3. Sister Kelly died at a young age, Father recently deceased"  
>"Who is this, Elliot is this you? Your freaking me out."<br>"It doesn't matter who I am. Open your email" Nicole did as she was told, her heart beating out of her chest.  
>"These... these are pictures of Zack. Some at work, some at his house, some at mine." She was on the edge of tears now. Nicole had trust issues, rooting from an attempt of rape on her at a young age, when she was finally able to trust men with her body and her love, she trusted Zack Addy, who loved her whole-heartedly. The thought of losing Zack was too much for her to handle.<br>"Who are you and what do you want with Zack!" She cried.  
>"There is a sniper tracking him as we speak. Do everything I say and no one will get hurt."<br>"Whatever you say" she said. And the line went dead.  
>She started working with the master to save Zack but she soon took a liking to his work, she even killed a man in the name of him and his cause. Then one day he asked her for something she couldn't provide, a distraction at the Jeffersonian, she told him about Zack, but Zack wouldn't do it, she knew this. So the master and Nicole staged a kidnapping, the master contacted Zack claiming to have abducted Nicole, sending him pictures of her in shackles. It broke Nicole's heart to lie to Zack but it was the only way.<br>Zack did all he could to 'save" Nicole. He tampered with the bones in limbo and as a finale he caused an explosion in the Jeffersonian, costing him his hands. When he finally learned of Nicole's murder, he took he blame. She eventually came clean, telling him the whole sad story. Zack turned from her, he could no longer trust her, but still loved her. He loved her enough to take the blame for her murder. Zack had told sweets that he took the blame for murder because he would have done it if asked by the master, but it wasn't the master he would have said yes to. It was Nicole.  
>~~~~~Back~~~~~<br>Zack relayed this story to Riely. After Zack had finished Riely leaned in and gave Zack a peck on the cheek. He said nothing and left the room. Zack didn't see him again until dinner that night.  
>When Riely walked in he spotted Zack sitting at a table with Jasmine. She looked very shaken up. Riely sat down next to Zack.<br>"what's the matter" he asked vaguely concerned.  
>"See hasn't seen Teresa all day" Zack answered, who was sitting close next to Jasmine with his arm around her shoulder, comforting her.<br>"so... Do you think something might have happened... Something bad?"  
>A tear rolled down her cheek. She buried her head in the grove where Zack's neck met his shoulders. Zack, unsure what to do, sat there awkwardly, willing her to stop crying. Zack couldn't help but think that it was much easier working with corpses than people. Corpses told you exactly what you need if you know where to look. People will lie, steal, murder and let you take the blame. But Zack knew, deep down in his heart (or more likely in his brain) that no matter how much the body can tell what happened to you or in some instances even how you felt, but it can't tell what you think. And the ability to recognize ones own emotions, in zack's eyes, was the closest thing to a miracle that can logically happen. Tears were still silently rolling down Jasmine's face, causing Zack's shirt to be a make-shift tissue.<p>

Jasmine couldn't bare to answer Riely's question. Not because she was worried about Teresa, but because she was worried about herself. What if Teresa had been released? What if she had been thrown in the padded room? For Jasmine Teresa what made the asylum bearable. For Jasmine Teresa was what is referred to as an anchor. Teresa was the closest Jasmine was capable of to a romantic relationship. Though neither girl was sexually attracted to the other, and though neither girl would dare speak of it, they had Aa connection as intimate in nature as a realationship of lover's. They had a platonic love. "I won't be able to sleep tonight." She told them. She hadn't eaten a bite of food but a doctor still agreed to give her a mild sedative to help her sleep. She left diner early and retreated to her room.

Zack and Riely sat awkwardly for a moment until Matin came and sat down with them. "I gotta' question for you guys. Well mainly you" he said pointing at Zack. "You put up with Oz, hell, you're even friends with him! How do you do it?" Martin leaned in far too close to Zack face for comfort and Riely felt something bubbling in his stomach, jealousy perhaps? Riely grabbed Zack back to their room. "Where ya goin'" hollered Martin in their wake. Riely ignored him and speed-walked away dragging Zack behind him.

"What was that about?" asked Zack  
>"I don't know" replied Riely honestly. Riely took a moment to look at the boy, really <em>look. <em>He was beautiful. After a moment of hesitation he leaned in. Zack, with the few social skills he had, took the hint and closed his eyes, parting his lips slightly. They both leaned closer until they could practically feel each others breaths. When finally there was a knock at the door. Zack opened his eyes to regard the boy in front of his, cursing whoever it could be for spoiling his moment. They kept each others gaze until another knock sounded. Riely cleared his throat. " I should, um, get that... I guess." Stuttered Riely awkwardly. Behind the door revealed a male-nurse. He stated that Zack had a phone call. Zack fallowed the nurse to the site of the pay phone. Zack picked up the reciever and held it to his ear.  
>"Hello?"<br>"Hey Z-man!" Zack cracked a smile.  
>"How are you Angela" he said in a flat tone despite his joy at hearing her voice.<br>"Well, not too great at the moment. Remember the time we all got stuck in lockdown?"  
>"I had to share a shower with Hodgins, how could I possible forget?" Zack's smile widened. "It happened again didn't it?"<br>"Bingo" only stuck in here for 2 days this time.  
>"What caused the lockdown."<br>"unfortunately sweetie I can't talk about that. We're all under super secret oath-ey thingies cuz of the case."  
>"Oh" Zack said slightly disappointed, it made him sad every time he thought of the team working on cases without him. "So what were you calling about?"<br>"Oh, just checking in, Hon." This wasn't unusual for Angela. She would often called Zack during parties or events so Zack wouldn't feel so out of touch. There was a some struggling sounds from their end. Zack opened his mouth to ask Angela if she was still there when another voice came on the line.  
>"Heyyy. What's up man! I'm coming to visit you when we get out of here! I have some data I want to go over with you from our moth experiment." Zack might be incarcerated but that never stopped him from doing experiments. Zack would often form a hypothesis separately from Hodgins. Zack would design an experiment, Hodgins would conduct it and they would bet on the outcome. It would be very easy to rig if either one had any serious intentions on winning but it was all good-natured fun. "Dude we need t- OW!" there was a stomping sound.<br>"Sorry about Zack. Hodgins is just trying to steal away from my precious Zack time." A small voice in the background who Zack assumed was dr. Brennan said  
>"I want to talk to him." There was a muffled yell in the background and suddenly Booth was on the phone.<br>"Sorry Zack but we have a _case _to solve and I need all the people who _actually work here _to **pay attention.**" Then the line went dead, presumably because Booth slammed it.

Zack walked back to his room to see Riely waiting for him, sitting in the middle of the floor. In one fluid motion Riely got up, walked towards Zack, placed his hands behind his neck and slammed his lips against the other boys. Teeth clashed and lips collided. Zack, unsure of what to do with his hands, let them dangle loosely at his sides. Before Zack even had a chance to react it was over. Riely had simply turned around and slipped into his bed. But before he had a chance to not make another move the rest of the night, Zack walked over turned him so they were face to face. After a moment of looking into each other's eyes Zack kissed him, just a quick peck on the lips. Like hell was Zack about to let Riely kiss him and go to bed without letting him respond! They gazed at each other for a few fleeting moments before Zack backed away and got into his own bed. Without even changing their clothes they both laid in bed, neither one daring to make another move the entire night, neither one sleeping, both just waiting. Just anticipating the morning when the morning when they would have to talk about the event that took place.


End file.
